The Falcons, who won 24-21, were in a base offense with two receivers, a running back and a fullback when Vick hit Crumpler down the left side for a 27-yard gain. Thinking Atlanta would stay with the same personnel as it faced first-and-10 at the 20, New Orleans defensive coordinator Rick Venturi wanted his base scheme on the field.

Knapp, though, sent in Michael Jenkins to give the Falcons three receivers and brought fullback Stanley Pritchett to the sideline. Mayhem ensued the Saints, who quickly inserted a nickel package that included five different players.

"What we're finding out, like this game, is that there's a lot less (uncustomary defensive) looks on first and second down, because we're changing personnel so much that they can't get quite set," Knapp said."It's working out well so far."

Vick took advantage of the unsettled Saints as he moved left, then right, then left again on a playground-like rollout that gave Crumpler time to beat nickel cornerback Jason Craft at the goal line.

"When you are up against a guy like Michael Vick and a team like the Atlanta Falcons in the red zone, it's hard to stop them 100 percent of the time," Saints defensive end Darren Howard said. "We did a good job in the second half, but you've got to be good the whole game and not make mental mistakes we made today."

KEEP IT COOL: Following a heated exchange in a question-and-answer volley during his postgame news conference, head coach Jim Mora pulled a reporter aside to ask if he had been too testy.

Mora disliked how he kept getting asked about the Falcons' difficulty in padding leads in the third quarter, a trend that's allowed Tampa Bay, the New York Giants and the Saints to have a chance to win each of the last three weeks.

"You would love them all to be beautiful," Mora said. "You love to score 14 points every quarter and just roll over everyone, but that is not the National Football League. It never has been and it never will be. You learn from wins like this and you build character from them. It will help us later on."

Mora wished he had kept his cool, but he thought the line of questioning was unfair after his team rallied to win on the Vick-Crumpler score with 34 seconds remaining.

"You know what? I'll take it," Mora said of his 9-2 team. "Would I have liked better production in the third quarter? Absolutely. You know what more than anything? I like wins. We've got nine now. We'll take that over everything."

AMAZIN' MIKE: Knapp knew when he left San Francisco to join new head coach Jim Mora that Vick was an amazing athlete. But the coordinator now finds himself reassessing his thoughts on the 24-year-old superstar after every game.

"I'm learning with this guy how special he is," Knapp said. "I think that might be our first touchdown (pass) with him in a scramble mode this year. It couldn't have come at a better time. Most of his touchdowns have been with him in the pocket on a play-action pass or on a straight dropback. But we've always felt like his mobility was going to create touchdowns."

Yes, Vick certainly can create on the run. The guy who three games ago became the only player in NFL history to pass for 250 yards and run for 100 in a single game made it 14-0 in the first half by scrambling 16 yards and hitting fullback Pritchett for a 1-yard pass.

ACHES AND PAINS: Starting fullback Justin Griffith nursed an injured knee all week and didn't dress, so Pritchett took his place. Pritchett has played sparingly this year, mostly on special teams, but his first appearance on the stat sheet, the touchdown catch, was impressive.

"You always want to contribute, no matter what," Pritchett said."It's a good feeling."

Running back Warrick Dunn left the game after reinjuring his left knee. Hurt on a 10-yard gain late in the third quarter, Dunn lost a fumble at the New Orleans 6 with 3:03 remaining on his next carry.

"On the read, I tried to stay tight, (but) I think the hole closed, so I tried to go outside and instead of me just trying to stay square, I tried to get skinny to get past the guy," Dunn said after linebacker James Allen took the ball away. "He just did a good job, the way that I was turned, that he was able to get his hands in there. It happened to me a couple of years ago (at New Orleans) but we was still able to win the game."